Fun with General Motors

[hobbes28]

I hate to say it. But NO autoc ompany will replace anything out of warranty at a discount or free. Nobody!!! I don't have any GM cars but Dodge, Ford, nor any foreign will do anything to save you money when something breaks. Even if you think it should last longer than it did. And this is even more true when you are not the original owner. If you go to someone other than the dealer you should be able to beat the $3,500 price tag on a rebuilt motor easilly.

Actually... a family friend has a Toyota and the engine was acting funny so she took it to the dealership. They called her later on the same day and told her that the engine had x, y, and z wrong with it and it would have to be replaced. They also said that since it only had 110k miles on it and it was so out of the norm for a Toyota engine that the cost of replacement and labor was on the house. I called them in the hope that GM would stand behind their vehicles like that....I was wrong.

Also, that price was for a new engine. I am going to shop around for better prices soon too because I know that they've got it in their best interest to not charge the least amount possible.

 

[tempra]

Toyota are a completely different animal to other car manufacturers, they are number 1 in the world because they produce quality goods, GM produce consumer goods.

That said, I had a Vauxhall Cavalier once (UK GM) and the steering rack tore away from the body, took it into the dealership and they repaired it for free as it was a known problem, the car was about 8 years old at that time - I didn't ask for it, they offered and I was the third or fourth owner of the car.

Two weeks later some idiot t-boned it, right outside of the same garage - they didn't want to fix that.

I think for a seven year old car you would be mighty lucky to get GM to contribute anything to it, it's had it's guarantee which the original owner paid for in the purchase price and thats what they honoured, now it's your car and your responsibility and unless it's a safety critical failure which could be traced back to a known condition like my steering rack, or dealing with a first rate manufacturer like Toyota, they aren't interested.

Bear in mind that you are not their customer, their customer is the person that bought a new vehicle, and thats what they make money on - the second hand market makes no money for them mind you, the servicing / repairs / spare parts market is extremely lucrative if done through their network - best to go to independants for that if it's out of warranty.

Good luck with it though!

 

[JTHphoto]

i hate to be cynical but i feel like the majority of companies are this way anymore (at least in the US)... everybody wants to cram their products and advertising down your throat but nobody wants to stand by them... they charge you extra for insurance and warranties and then try to find any way out possible...

sorry i'm adding to your rant. i'm bummed you are having those issues, I hope everything works out for the best... if nothing else you know not to own another GM vehicle!

I drive an '87 toyota camry with 165K miles, a '95 honda accord with 125K miles and my 01 jeep wrangler with 50K. None of them have ever let me down, i'd highly recommend any of them...

good luck!

 

[Pre-Loved.]

Apparently you both need to learn how to drive standard better.

Teehee.

no matter how well i drive, it won't also fix the broken horn, windscreen washer jets, or the random doors that just lock every now and then, once causing me to climb out the window in the middle of the city on a friday night...






....i told people i was drunk....







....they believed me

 

[Xmetal]

Korean but new.

What were you thinking!?!

 

[Eric.]

Actually... a family friend has a Toyota and the engine was acting funny so she took it to the dealership. They called her later on the same day and told her that the engine had x, y, and z wrong with it and it would have to be replaced. They also said that since it only had 110k miles on it and it was so out of the norm for a Toyota engine that the cost of replacement and labor was on the house. I called them in the hope that GM would stand behind their vehicles like that....I was wrong.

Also, that price was for a new engine. I am going to shop around for better prices soon too because I know that they've got it in their best interest to not charge the least amount possible.

We had the same thing on our acura with only 160,000 km on it. No charge new engine.

 

[danalec99]

I've been reading that GM would go bankrupt one of these days. I wouldn't be suprised though...

...unless they hire someone like Carlos Ghosn.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/01/business/01auto.html?_r=1&oref=login

They must have seen this thread.

 

[PlasticSpanner]

Unfortunately most main dealers do repairs under warranty which means that even for a blown head gasket it's cheaper to replace the unit (engine) and send it back to the factory than strip it down & repair it. Because of this their staff are not trained to carry out repairs which unfortunately hurts the "out of warranty" customers.

If you can find a good, traditional garage with real mechanics (not just fitters) you should get it repaired a lot cheaper. But there lies the problem, finding a good garage with real mechanics!

 

[LWW]

Here's the bottom line:

-YOU can't vouch for the car's care during the 1st 80K miles.
-YOU didn't pay GM $0.01.
-YOU knew the car was out of warranty when you bought it.
-YOU accepted the savings from buying used over new in exchange for the risk associated with buying used.

On what basis do you assume that you can take all the benefit of not buying a new vehicle yet get someone else to assume all the risk?

That engine commonly goes well over 200K miles so I have to assume that something done, or not done, in it's past caused the breakdown.

BTW I worked in dealership management for 25+ years...both foreign and domestic...and GM is the most lenient towards out of warranty repairs to original owners of anyone out there. NO COMPANY is going to cover a breakdown when the vehicle has went roughly 3 times the time and mileage of the original warranty. The fact that they even considered it speaks well of them. Toyota/Honda et al wouldn't have given you the time of day.

I'm not trying to be cruel, but there's no reason to sugarcoat it. What you are wanting is totally unrealistic.

As to the $5K estimate...buy a used engine and be done with it.

LWW

 

[Alison]

Toyota/Honda et al wouldn't have given you the time of day.

Appreciate the thoughts, and we do understand where you're coming from. Mostly this was just a a vent that our new (to us) car broke down after less than a year of ownership in a state that's not our home after just eating throgh all of our savings due to a job loss. However, a family friend got a brand new engine from Toyota out of warranty and Eric's post here said he had the same thing happen with his Acura and it was repaired. So I have to disagree with that statement that you made above.

No, we didn't buy a new vehicle because we couldn't afford the $40-60K this car costs new. All the dealers we saw assured us that Suburbans would last into the 200-300K mile range on their engines and this one had 80K when we bought it. When people buy used they expect some problems, minor repairs, parts wearing out....but I can pretty much say that nobody expects to be shelling out for an engine at less than 100K miles. I understand GMs position but it doesn't hurt any less.

 

[Torus34]

I know well the sick feeling in the pit of the stomach when a car develops a really serious problem. It's like being betrayed by a close friend.

 

[LWW]

Allison, I understand your frustration. I truly do. I was off to work when I wrote the post and on hindsight I may have been a bit harsh, so let me elaborate a little.

To the manufacturer the original owner is their customer and that's who they will go to bat for, if at all.

As to the Toyota/Honda engine replacements...they both have had a few "silent recalls" on engines which have a design flaw. Honda's I'm not so familiar with, Toyota had a few engines where the engines would develop excessive sludge if maintained at the mfrs schedule.

Those were replaced, as they should have been, if they failed and the owners could provide maintenance histories.

Mazda has a current issue going on with mismachined blocks in 1999/2000 Miatas and Proteges.

These are issues where the mfr knows they screwed up and an exceptionally high amount of engines are failing. Not to exonerate GM eiother because they have had their own issues.

These engines have never exhibited issues such as this in large numbers at all. I suspect that I may know what the root cause of the problem is however.

Do you, or did the prior owner, tow with the vehicle?

The reason I ask is that all GM trucks are offered with and without a "TOWING PACKAGE". Probably 95%+ of GM trucks are ordered with the package. Of the Suburban/Yukon/Tahoe line probably 90%+ are so equipped.

The basic chassis and brakes are completely capable of towing massive loads. The package consists of a hitch receiver and proper wiring to go to the trailer. A few people try to cheap out and add these 2 items aftermarket when they order the vehicle.

What else the package contains is:

1-An oversized radiator.
2-An engine oil cooler.
3-A transmission cooler.
4-A higher output alternator.
5-A higher capacity air cleaner.

In a nutshell it doesn't give you any more power, but it allows the vehicle to:

1-Dissipate engine and transmission heat, which results from carrying an increased load, quicker.

2-Filter more air, as required to burn more fuel to carry the additional load, more efficiently.

3-Produce the needed additional electrical power, for trailer lights and electric trailer brakes, more efficiently.

I hope this helps, and if you have more Q's I can help you with please let me know.

LWW

 

[castrol]

I realize this is a pretty old thread, but had GM offered to even pay $100 toward
getting a new engine, it is an admission of fault for the failure.

That being said, I highly doubt the entire engine needs to be replaced. Has
anyone with any mechanical experience looked it over to see what needed
to be done? You can put one hell of a built motor in that truck for $5000.

Not to mention they are pretty much a dime a dozen anywhere in the country
since it is one of the most popular engines ever made.